Thinking about swimming in Falls Lake? Think again!

Just this month, two Falls Lake beaches were closed due to high levels of bacteria.  But this water isn't just for recreation.  This is the water we drink!  Both Falls Lake and Jordan Lake - Wake County's drinking supply reservoirs - are rated as "impaired."  That means they're polluted from stormwater run-off, and overgrown with potentially toxic algae.

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR WAKE SENATORS IN THE NC GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND ASK THEM TO CLEAN UP THESE LAKES!
Send an email or call them in the next few days and ask them to:

• Support House bill, HB 239, which will put rules in motion to clean up Jordan Lake. Also, please bring HB 239 to a vote of the full Senate as soon as possible (attempts are being made to weaken the bill right now!). It has taken 12 years of negotiations to get here and it is time to act.
• Support Wake Senator Josh Stein's recommendations to move up the deadline and establish interim guidelines for developing rules to clean up Falls Lake. The state has already been given a year extension to establish rules for improving Falls Lake water quality. Action is urgently needed to set guidelines to clean up the lake!

Contact Wake NC Senators:
Sen Richard Stevens at richard.stevens@ncleg.net, 919-733-5653
Sen Dan Blue at dan.blue@ncleg.net, 919-733-5752
Sen Neal Hunt at neal.hunt@ncleg.net, 919-733-5850

Background on Lake issues:

Jordan Lake
Within just 20 years, Jordan Lake became badly polluted. Now, 12 years later, rules have been negotiated between the state, municipalities and other stakeholders to direct action to help clean it up. Unfortunately, some in the NC General Assembly and at the NC Dept. of Transportation don't want these rules to proceed and are trying to weaken them. A compromise was recently negotiated between upstream cities and downstream water consumers and clean water advocates. This compromise legislation, HB 239, passed the NC House of Representatives, and is now under consideration by the NC Senate.

Falls Lake
Falls Lake and the streams flowing into it have been declared impaired/polluted. Rules were supposed to be developed for cleaning up Falls Lake by July 2009. Well, the state isn't on track to meet that date, and it has asked to move the deadline to November 2011! It could take many years for these rules to be developed and implemented too -- just like Jordan Lake! Meanwhile, the lake is getting worse and Raleigh's Public Utility must use more chemicals to keep it clean to drink. WakeUP is communicating with city and state officials about getting moving with the rules. We also need incentives to encourage stormwater protections of the lake NOW, until the rules are developed. Wake Senator Josh Stein got a bill passed in the NC Senate that would do just that - SB 1020. Many thanks to Senator Stein!

Click here to read more about water issues in Wake County.